Ancient region, central Iraq.
Akkad was the northern division of ancient Babylonia ( Sumer was the southern division). Its name was taken from the city of Agade, founded by the conqueror Sargon с 2300 BC. Sargon united the city-states in the region and extended the empire to much of Mesopotamia , including Sumer, Elam , and the upper Tigris . The empire waned in the 22nd century BC. Under the kings of Akkad, their Semitic language, Akkadian , became a literary language, and great art was fostered.
Bronze head of a king, perhaps Sargon of Akkad, from Nineveh (now in Iraq), Akkadian period, ...
Courtesy of the Directorate General of Antiquities, Baghdad, Iraq